Hot Topics in Health

Fighting the Flu naturally

If you want to have the Flu jab or vaccine you can and try cover the 1-2 flu viruses it covers, but it won’t prevent all the potential stomach flus or other colds so best to try some of these natural tips

The following are some simple things that can help you fight off or prevent the flu:

Gluten Intolerance – Coeliac Disease

Gluten is the protein found in some grains like wheat, oats, barley and rye.

It can create problems in the body like gut upsets and inflammation, poor absorption of nutrients and aching joints or fluid retention. The gluten protein basically punches holes in the gut and gets inside and creates inflammation in your tissues of your body and some organs.

At its most severe when the gut has actually been destroyed or flattened due to damage from gluten we call it “coeliac disease” and when you look inside the small bowel of someone with coeliac disease you see flat “villi” (little fingerlike protrusions that help absorb the food) and you see poor absorption of iron, B vitamins and minerals on the blood tests.

Adrenal Fatigue Health Tips

Low energy or physical exhaustion is probably the most common symptom I see as a holistic doctor. These days we hear a lot about adrenal fatigue. If you tend to be wired or wake in the early hours and feel wacked out and tired during the day or find it hard to get out of bed in the morning then consider adrenal fatigue.

So when the adrenal glands are not working so well what are some health tips we can take in our lives to help the adrenal glands recover.

Zinc and its health benefits

Zinc is a mineral our body uses in over 300 places in the body to help it work well. It is concentrated in the heart and helps keep the heart muscle healthy along with preventing atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.

Sea Salt, Himalayan salt and a short word on iodine!

Salt is essential for life.

To produce sea salt you evaporate off the sea water. In the process the iodine is lost so you can’t rely on sea salt for your iodine supplies. Sea salt contains traces of minerals like magnesium, calcium and traces of other minerals. You need it from clean oceans to be best for you. There are some good sea salts you can try.

Iodine deficiency

Fluoride and chlorine displace iodine from our bodies. Both are in our drinking water, showers, baths and swimming pools. Iodine is not naturally rich in our soils. Iodine occurs in the oceans in seaweeds and sea life, but not our earth soils where we grow plants – not in any large amounts.

Green algae - is chlorella good for you?

Algae are aquatic plant-like organisms that mostly have chlorophyll and cell walls. A Korean study suggested that the algae Korean men consume helps to prevent Type II diabetes.

Chlorella is a type of green algae. Algae have different colours like brown, green or red. The “blue-green” algae that you hear about contaminating water supplies is more a micro-organism than a true plant algae.

Are you breathing properly?

Breathing is something we do every minute of every day we are alive. Mostly we don’t even think about it and it is on automatic.

Sometimes our bodies can get into a state of hyperventilation or breathing through our mouth and over-breathing – blowing off too much carbon dioxide and leaving the body in an out of balance state of oxygen relative to carbon dioxide for the body systems.

Teenage Acne

Acne occurs in many teenagers as the hormones start to kick into action. In particular the androgens or sex hormones, like testosterone which is present in both men and women, kicks into action in the teenage years and creates a more oily skin. The body is growing fast and the oil and cells plug up skin pores which then create a place for the bacteria on the skin to start a local infection or pimple. This can be on the face, chest and upper back in particular.

Allergies - Spring Hayfever or Allergic Rhinitis

Around this time of year people can get more problems with allergies. Symptoms include runny nose, sneezing, red eyes, mild headache or sinus ache and an itchy nose that just won’t stop being a nuisance.

Digestive Enzymes - the inside story!

When we eat food it needs to be broken down into smaller pieces so we can absorb it across the gut lining and into our systems to be used for cellular energy. The nutrients we absorb are used for building and repairing the body and supporting all the glandular, organ (liver, kidney) and immune systems.

A Healthy Start to Your Day

Breakfast comes from the two words “break” and “fast” it is the meal we have when we are breaking the fast from not eating at night while our body has been resting and cleansing and repairing our systems.

Some people skip it, some drink a quick coffee and shoot out the door, others make a meal of it and some have a quick slice of toast or bowl of cereal or porridge with fruit and yoghurt and get into their day.

How can we make it a good sustaining nourishing start? When should we eat actual food in the mornings?

Good Mood - a natural approach

So many New Zealanders are now taking some kind of anti-depressant medication – I think it is around 1 in 20 or higher – so I thought I would do a brief write up this week on how to achieve good mood naturally.

There are the basic steps of having a good environment and the people around you being uplifting or helping you go well in life rather than pulling or getting you down. Changing your environment and resolving conflicts through communication are all important for happiness.

Gum Health

Some quick tips on nutrients to help your gums.

Iodine – seaweeds in diet, kelp or iodine drops rub into gums. Sea Salt – rub into gums or use in toothpaste by Welleda. Vitamin C – get in lipospheric form to dissolve in mouth. Vitamin D – drops and liquid forms in olive oil – keep your Vitamin D at a good level for strong bones and teeth. Coenzyme Q10 – lipospheric sachets to dissolve in mouth or as wafers to help gums to heal.

Breast Health

How does a woman keep her breasts healthy? If she has had problems with painful breasts or breast cysts is there anything you can do naturally to help? How can we prevent breast cells changing? Are there any natural substances that help keep the breasts going well?

Gut Bacteria - Healthy ones and those that create problems!

We have trillions of micro- organisms that live on and in the body and are an essential part of helping us create nutrients and even defending the body from other harmful bacteria, viruses and toxins. The largest colonies of these microbes live in the gut. We have about 1.5-2 kg of gut bacteria!

Weight Loss Resistance

How on earth do you get a body to lose weight when you have tried everything?

Here are some quick health tips to check off to see if you can spot which area you need to change, or perhaps even bypass some habits or normal routines so you can be the weight or body shape you’d like to be!

Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome

Poly Cystic Ovary Syndrome is a condition in which the ovaries have too many egg filled cysts in them.

It can lead to an excess of testosterone in the body and thus acne, dark facial and chest hairs or dark body hairs and male hair patterns. It can also lead to problems with fertility and even mood, weight issues and so on.

Our inner ecosystem of the body - healthy gut and bacteria

I get fascinated by the research coming out that shows more and more that we are actually meant to have trillions of healthy gut bacteria all working in communication with the body. These “probiotic” or “pro-life” bacteria all work with our digestion to help digest our food and create the nutrients we need. They also help detox toxins, remove metals or chemicals and generally create a big part of our immune system.

B vitamins - natural energy in your food

When you were at school you might have been taught that whole grains were the best source of B vitamins. There are B vitamins in your whole grain bread, but the grains are in a form that makes it hard for your body to digest. Have you ever wondered why cows and other animals have more than one stomach and have to chew the grass and grains so long and allow them to digest for hours?

Bone Health

Bones are made of a lot of minerals sitting in a flexible cellular and collagen (stretchy, bendy structure). There is a hard outer bone and a soft bone marrow in many of the bones like the long leg bones. It is not just calcium that makes up healthy bones, but also magnesium and other essential trace minerals like Boron, Strontium and so on.

What is Kefir?

Kefir is a healthy yeast that has been used to ferment dairy products to create “curd” as far back as the ancient “Vedic” health texts called the “Aryuveda” in ancient India. It was also seen as a “gift from the gods” by the ancient Caucus region people (Russian area).

Menopause

There is a period around the late 40’s as women come up to the change of life where the ovaries stop ovulating (releasing eggs) called the “peri” menopause. “Peri” means “around” so it is the time when the ovaries are perhaps ovulating less or producing less hormones or there are hormonal changes.

Cholesterol and Inflammation

Our body is made of many cells held together with membranes which are called "cell membranes". These cell membranes are made of cholesterol in a form known as "phospholipids" that are essential for a healthy cell.

Donna Gates - Body Ecology Diet

I like this book because it introduced me to some simple principles like not eating too much at any one meal – finish when you are 80% full. Also making your plate 80% vegetables (from land or ocean) and 20% can be animal protein, grains (especially ones like quinoa or millet – gluten free) and/or starchy vegetables like kumara, pumpkin and potato.